CREATING A SO-CALLED BLOOD MOON. CHIEF METEOROLOGIST TONY MAINOLFI EXPLAINS WHAT MAKES THIS PHENOMENON SO UNIQUE. IT’S NOT A BIRD. IT’S NOT A PLANE. IT’S A TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE, A RARE EVENT WHEN THE MOON PASSES WITHIN THE DARKEST PART OF EARTH’S SHADOW. IT DOESN’T HAPPEN THAT OFTEN BECAUSE THE MOON ACTUALLY ORBITS SLIGHTLY ABOVE AND BELOW THE EARTH’S SHADOW. MOST OF THE TIME. BUT EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS, IT PUNCHES THROUGH THAT SHADOW. AND THAT TIME IS HERE. THURSDAY NIGHT, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY WILL BE ABLE TO WITNESS THE MOON MARVEL BEGINNING JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, ACCORDING TO NASA. IT’S VERY GRADUAL IN THE TOTALITY. THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PART WON’T HAPPEN UNTIL ABOUT 11:26 P.M. PACIFIC TIME. THE BIG THING WITH A LUNAR ECLIPSE IS BECAUSE IT’S SLOW IS I USUALLY FIND IT HELPFUL TO CHECK IN ON IT A COUPLE TIMES OF THE NIGHT, AS THE MOON IS COMPLETELY COVERED IN EARTH’S SHADOW, IT WILL APPEAR TO CHANGE COLOR. THIS NASA DATA VISUALIZATION PREDICTS THE MOON WILL LOOK LIKE THIS. THE APPEARANCE OF A TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE IS VERY MUCH DEPENDENT ON THE CONDITIONS IN THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE. YOU’RE GETTING THE LIGHT FROM ALL OF THE WORLD’S SUNRISES AND SUNSETS, BENDING BY THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE ONTO THE FACE OF THE MOON. WHEN IT’S IN TOTALITY. AND THAT’S WHY IT HAS THIS COPPERY RED OR SO CALLED BLOOD COLOR, INSTEAD OF BEING JUST COMPLETELY BLACK. AND UNLIKE SOLAR ECLIPSES, WE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THIS PHENOMENON WITH THE NAKED EYE. NO SPECIAL GLASSES NEEDED. YOU CAN EVEN BRING OUT YOUR BINOCULARS AND LOOK RIGHT AT THE